Diversion
by Courbeau
Summary: That man that followed them to the diner turned out to be trouble. Booth and Brennan must keep pretending in order to catch him. Follow up to 'Distraction'.


Monday morning rolled through the city bright and early, pinks and oranges smeared after the blues and purples passed overhead. Although spring had sprung, the flowers were blooming brighter every day and the birds were having a hard time containing themselves. The city began teaming with people heading for work, children going to school, and, unfortunately, murderers doing what they do best. Therefore, Dr. Temperance Brennan was already at work in the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Building. As there weren't any new bodies in yet, her presence was merely for precaution.

The lab was near silent. There were two interns tip-toeing around, avoiding Dr. Brennan's gaze with intense concentration; they were being as invisible as they could.

Brennan remained hunched over an exam table with a set of bones that had been clean of flesh for so long they were bleached white. As the lab filled up and lulled with activity, she remained constant and quiet. Piece by piece the skeleton was assembled and piece by piece it was examined. The only movement the good doctor ever made was to make a short note in small writing on a pad of paper close at hand.

The drawer from Limbo was labelled 'John Doe 863'.

As the clock on the wall ticked closer to noon, the lab doors slid open with a swish, and a familiar voice rang out loud and clear, bouncing off the many silver surfaces.

"I'm kidnapping you."

Seeley Booth scanned his security card and hopped up the steps to the platform, his jacket flapping excitedly.

Bones continued tracing the curve of the skeleton's right tibia with her eyes, unruffled by the sudden presence of federal authority. He loomed over her shoulder, his cologne creeping up around her.

"I'm confused," she responded calmly, "Do I scream for help, or is this the kind of kidnapping where you take me willingly to the diner so you can have pie and discuss the murder?"

"Neither." Booth's voice seemed put out a bit by her less-than-enthusiastic response.

"Then what is it, Booth? I'm busy," Bones sighed, her eyes passing back over the bone in her hands.

"We're going under cover."

Bones put the tibia down and raised her head, her azure eyes twinkling right into his. Booth was grinning stupidly, holding a folder in his left hand and fiddling with his blue-speckled tie with his right.

"So what do you say?" he asked, already knowing the gist of her answer.

Bones straightened up and unbuttoned her lab coat, folding it neatly over a stool by the computer.

"Who am I?"

Not 'why?', 'where are we going?', 'who are we fooling?'.

"You're you," Booth answered cryptically, leaning against the exam table with the pale skeleton laid out on it. He paused to pick up an ulna.

"I'm me?" Behind her eyes, her brain was clinking gears around, but she still reached out and plucked the bone from his fingers, replacing it blindly. His smile widened and his eyebrows jumped.

"Well, who are you?" Booth prompted. Brennan's face reflected confusion, and she looked up at him hoping for a clue.

"I'm Dr. Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist for the Jeffersonian Institution, best-selling author..." Bones hesitated, trying to figure out what Booth wanted her to say; the clue to his riddle.

He rolled his eyes, still smiling.

"Don't forget to tag 'fiancé' onto the end of that," he replied. He shifted his weight and stood again, watching her face for her reaction.

Her face went blank and her hands twitched slightly.

"Aren't you going to ask who you're engaged to?" Booth prodded, hesitant.

"I already know. Considering the events of yesterday, I would guess and say you."

"I thought you didn't guess, Bones," Booth teased. "And besides, what's so bad about me?" He took in her expression. She was frowning slightly.

"Nothing, Booth. It just means this has to do with those mob men," Bones answered quickly, realizing the doubt she had just instilled in him. "Nothing is wrong with you."

He grinned again and looked down at her hands, still fidgeting.

"So put that snazzy little ring back on your ring finger, and we'll go for lunch."

She didn't move.

Booth blinked.

"Or... I could do it for you, and make it more official. I just didn't take you for a 'down-on-one-knee' sort of gal," Booth's eyebrows knitted together, but his eyes twinkled in mirth.

"No, Booth. I can do it. I just don't _have_ to," Bones raised her left hand distractedly, and Booth saw what she meant. The silver knot ring was still on her ring finger, glinting under the lab lights.

Booth's face cracked and he was about to say something when Brennan interrupted him before he could begin.

"I left it there because it feels comfortable there. I went to change it back yesterday afternoon and it just didn't feel right where I had it before. So, I left it where it was. It's not that I want to get married, Booth. Don't start using psychology-"

Booth held up his hand and closed his eyes.

"I got it, Bones. You don't have to _rationalize_; you were being _logical_," he stressed, re-opening his eyes. "But now, I really am going to kidnap you; it's lunch time."

Booth grinned and started down the steps.

"What if I scream?" Bones countered, a curious look in her eye. She stood her ground and squared her shoulders, crossing her arms across her chest defiantly.

Booth sighed and reached to wrap a hand around her upper arm, waiting for Bones to react and put him on his back in less than two seconds. When she didn't, he grinned wider and tugged.

"Then I'll drag you along with me, and tell everyone who cares that we're just having our first big fight."

Bones padded along beside Booth, grabbing her jacket from the desk as she passed.

"But we _have_ fought before. We fight all the time," Bones corrected, pulling her arm from his loose grip.

"Our first big post-_engagement_ fight," Booth amended with a wiggle of his brows.

"Booth, we aren't _actually_ engaged. Everyone knows that," Bones said flatly, rolling her eyes.

Booth looked right at her.

"Yeah, but I have a gun."

The pair disappeared out the sliding doors leaving a very pregnant silence in their wake.

-

As coffee was placed down in front of the couple sitting at 'their' table, they thanked the waitress, ordered lunch, and doctored their brews in tandem with each other and a companionable lull in conversation.

"So why do we have to go undercover? I'm not sure I have all the facts yet," Brennan broke the quiet and added a spoon of sugar to her mug, her eyes flicking to her left hand and then up to his face.

Booth slid the folder he'd been carting around across the small table next to her hand.

"You can read that for more detail, but I'll just run through it all with you right now, so you can wrap your head around it," Booth caught her look. "Not that you wouldn't understand. It's just kind of confusing."

Bones huffed and plucked the spoon from the napkin at her side. It splunked into the dark brown liquid and she swirled it around in a mesmerizing pattern of figure eights and infinity symbols. She pushed the mug to her side after sipping it cautiously and she pulled the folder front and centre, flipping it open and Booth snagged her spoon and stirred his own very blonde concoction.

"You remember that body we looked at about a month ago? The one with an insane amount of cocaine on him?"

Bones nodded and Booth continued.

"Well, you also know that we took apart the vehicle at the scene for evidence, and the dogs were going nuts. Well, we found another four or five kilos under the panelling."

He sipped his coffee, watching her skim over the documents in the file folder. She shuffled through the pages quickly, one of her fingers sending glimmers of light in his direction every time she turned a page.

"Of course, as soon as that amount of drugs surfaced, the bastards at the DEA took over with their noses in the air. But not before you had a look at the body. Your primary report is in there, but they took the body away and had someone else examine it; one of their specialists."

Bones scoffed.

"I _am_ a specialist."

"You're the best, Bones," Booth grinned suddenly. "But, we never saw the body after that; they gave us the boot."

"Yes, I remember. We found him in an abandoned warehouse."

"Yeah, a homeless guy found him when he was looking for a new place to squat," Booth was considerably bright when he said this. "And you remember the tattoo he had on his neck?"

Bones looked up at him with a knowing look.

"The same tattoo that that guy from yesterday had; the one who was following us."

"Exactly," Booth grinned, sipping his coffee again and scanning to see if their food was coming. The waitress was busy taking more orders, and no food was up in the pass through from the kitchen in the back. He continued.

"He's from a relatively small Hispanic gang operating out of the Trinidad area of Washington. They're calling themselves Los Reyablos. That's where those police checkpoints were put up a few months ago. The crime rate slowed, but they just expanded their territory. Which has to do with the dead guy, Jose. He had been around from the beginning of this gang, but he wasn't getting promoted from drug supplier. All the other guys who had been with the Reyablos from the start had head positions; they never get their hands dirty anymore. Jose wasn't getting the special treatment, and he tired of it. So he was talking to these guys from a rival gang, the Wongs; Asian gang. The Wongs were promising him a more hands-off deal, less mess for him to clean up," Booth paused and Bones subbed in.

"And they found out. The Reyablos found out he was planning on switching sides to join the Wongs, and they reacted," Bones voice was paler than usual. "They had him killed; it was in an inside job."

"We think so," Booth nodded once. "I have a feeling they had this new kid do it. Juan. He was probably looking for an in, and they told him to kill Jose, so he did. The surveillance on this guy says he's been looking over his shoulder every three seconds, and flies like the wind whenever the police are within a mile of him." Booth chuckled to himself. "So you and I are carrying on what we started yesterday. I hope you're okay with that."

Booth looked expectantly at her.

"I'm fine with it, Booth. How long do you think it will be for?" Brennan asked, closing the folder slowly and taking a large gulp of coffee.

"Well, I don't think it'll be long. They're going to come for us, and make us do something predictable like destroy all the case evidence or lead the investigation away from them. Try to take us hostage. They won't kill us; it'll just draw more attention to them, because the first thing the investigators would do if we were found dead was look at all our recent cases, especially ones not quite solved yet. Their murder would be first on the chopping block," Booth explained. "In fact, I think they'll come for us tonight."

Bones blinked.

"Tonight?" She was shocked.

"Yeah," Booth's smug look irritated her and she fidgeted, waiting for the next explanation. She didn't have to wait long.

"I had Charlie draw up some fake documents for us, making it clear that we're investigating the murder of Jose Garza right _now_. And as soon as Charlie gives them to the undercover guy we've had in with these gangs for a few months, the agent will leak them to the heads of the Reyablos. They'll want this taken care of ASAP."

Bones nodded in understanding.

"So, where are we staying?" She asked after downing the rest of her coffee and setting he mug in the saucer.

"Well," Booth sighed, "I thought we could stay at my place, because you're place has so many little breakable things that are important to you. If there's a struggle, then..."

"Thank you, Booth. That was very thoughtful of you," Bones regarded him with a small smile.

"No problem. Plus, I know all the sounds of my place inside and out. I'll hear anybody _way_ before they get to us." Booth clapped his hands together as he saw their server making her way through the people with two plates in hand. "But now, Bones, it's lunch time."

He grinned.

Bones rolled her eyes.

-

"Is he still following us?" Bones whispered out of the side of her mouth to Booth.

They walked up the front steps of the Medico-Legal Lab in sync.

"Yes, Bones. He's still following us. I think the order was given to kidnap us; he's following a lot closer now. I'm not sure who he's going to go after once we separate," Booth's voice projected how unsure he was, leaving his partner, his 'wife', with nothing but the security the Jeffersonian already had. Not that this guy would be able to get in; it was pretty tight. But he had to leave her in order to see who was more important to the mob. Him or Bones? Probably Bones. She had more hands-on time with the evidence than he did.

They slowed as they reached the top of the steps and Booth turned to face her.

"I'm going back to the office to see if he follows me, or stays with you." His voice was thick with worry.

"I'll be fine, Booth. I can take care of myself," Bones insisted. "Besides, I'll be in the lab. He can't get in, and if he did, everyone would see. And they would be marginally more inclined to call for help if _he_ was dragging me away, gun or no gun."

She blinked up at him, and he laughed nervously.

"Alright. But I'll pick you up and take you back to my place. Don't wait out here for me; I'll come in to get you. Okay? Stay in the lab. In sight of the other squints at _all_ times."

Booth turned to go back down the steps and Brennan's fingers locked around his wrist. The surprised look on Booth's face made Brennan laugh as she pressed her lips to his cheek briefly.

"Don't look too surprised; he's watching and we have to keep up with the reflections, Booth." Bones stated scientifically. She let his wrist go and pulled out her ID card, turning to leave.

"It's 'appearances', Bones," Booth stumbled out. "Keeping up appearances."

Booth concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other until he reached his SUV and climbed inside. It wasn't until after he had shook himself and looked in the mirror, blushing as he glided his fingers over where her lips had touched his skin, that he laughed at their antics.

-

To Booth's relief, he found Brennan hunched over the same bleached skeleton from earlier in the day when he arrived just before five. The guy tailing them hadn't followed him to work, and suspicions were confirmed; Bones was his top priority.

"I'm feeling like Wong Foo's tonight, Bones. What do you say? Chinese and a movie? A nice quiet night in?" He was perched precariously on her stool, knees bent with his feet on the rung underneath him. His fingers drummed on the seat peeking out from between his suited legs. His charming grin was taking up residence on his face, and she took one look and sighed.

"I was going to work on my book tonight. But I suppose I can do both," she acquiesced, making one final note on her paper pad and gathering her folders together in a neat pile. She signed out of the computer and turned the screen off. "Let me just put these in my office and grab my bag. I'll be right back."

She took off, her long legs stretching as she made her way in the direction of the exam room. Booth bounded after her. He reached her just as she poked her head into speak to her boss.

"Booth and I are leaving now, Cam."

The brunette turned from her autopsy. She was decked in her floor length apron and shoulder gloves, covered in blood spatter. The saw in her hand stopped and she looked at the pair at her door, eyebrows raised.

"Oh-kay. See you tomorrow, Dr. Brennan. Booth," she nodded.

Bones almost turned into Booth but stopped, but stepped back into the office.

"If I _am_ kidnapped tonight, I obviously won't be in. In that case, just put the paperwork on my desk and I'll get to it as soon as I get back." She nodded in finality. Cam blinked in incredulity, shaking her head as her anthropologist left with her FBI liaison in tow. She started up the saw again and moved to the other side of the ribcage.

"You think you're going to get kidnapped?" Booth asked, offended. He trailed after her into her office as she speedily packed her bag and shut down her computer, neatening everything into stacks as she moved past the desk.

"No, it was just a precaution. I don't anticipate being taken against my will from your home while you're there, Booth," she dismissed his notion and grabbed her coat from her chair, striding back to the door.

"You're ready? Good, I'm starving." Booth jogged after her out the door, kicking the door stop up as he went. The glass whooshed shut, muffled.

"So, he didn't move?" Brennan asked Booth as they climbed into the FBI vehicle. She didn't even look around for the guy and Booth commended her for her self-discipline. He knew she wanted another good look at this guy.

"No. You're closer to the evidence, but we're together, so either he'll wait until we're really vulnerable, or he'll bring someone to help him. But this guy is desperate to be accepted into the Reyablos, so I think he's going to try and prove himself and bring us both in by himself. Stupid, but if he manages it, he would have a prime spot with them."

They sped down the street and Brennan jumped.

"I need to go home and get some things, Booth."

Booth sighed and he was silent as he drove.

"I'll be fine. I just need to grab some fresh clothes and we can get dinner."

"Fine," Booth grumbled. "But I'm going up with you."

Bones rolled her eyes and stared out the window, but didn't protest.

They pulled in, the engine dying quickly as Booth jumped out and accompanied Bones up to her apartment. She pushed the door open and let Booth close it behind him. She disappeared down the hall to her room as he locked it behind them and skulked around, checking to see if there were signs that someone had been in here between this morning when Bones left for work, and now. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so he turned to go make sure no one was hiding for her in her room when she got there. He could hear her walking around and humming to herself and the sound of a zipper cut through the stagnant air.

"Bones, I didn't see-" Booth chocked on his words.

He had rounded the doorframe to her bedroom and there was Bones. It was worse than being covered in blood and hacked to pieces.

There she was, standing in her underwear, pulling her shirt up over her head.

Booth lost interest in completing his sentence as his eyes drifted over the smooth skin of her stomach, her chest, down her back, over her lace-covered bottom and down her legs. Before she even had the shirt off her head, he had whirled around and slapped a hand over his eyes.

"Bones!" he exclaimed, other hand on his waist.

With a muffled sound of surprise, she dislodged her head from the fabric and Booth heard it drop to the floor.

"Booth, it's just skin! I'm not even completely naked. It's just you who's embarrass-"

"I'm not embarrassed. We're _partners_. It's not okay," Booth finished lamely, shaking his head as he dropped his hand and stared up at the ceiling. "Just tell me when you're done."

"You can leave, you know, Booth. I'm perfectly capable of packing an overnight bag by myself, without supervision," Bones replied snappishly, digging through her drawer and pulling out some dark jeans and a t-shirt. She pulled the pants up her legs and fastened the button quickly. She put a dress shirt and some black work pants in her bag, before folding clean underwear on top and placing her jacket over everything. At the sound of the zipper, Booth turned back around and his hand came back up to shield his eyes.

"Put a shirt on, Bones, jeez!"

"You said to tell you when I was dressed. I didn't tell you I was done. You just turned around!"

Booth fought to keep himself calm and collected, trying not to think about Bones' bare skin laid out for him.

"You're right. I'm sorry. Can you just put a shirt on so I can turn around?"

Bones was silent for a moment before she reached for the shirt lying on her bed and pushed her arms and head through, dragging it down smoothly. She pulled her hair out of the collar and slipped her feet into some comfortable flats before throwing her bag over her shoulder and slipping past Booth into the hallway again. She made a swift turn and stepped into the bathroom, bending to toss her toothbrush and comb into her bag, along with deodorant and shampoo.

Her phone rang from the living room.

Bones sighed and turned, dashing back down the hall, Booth trailing slowly after her.

He leaned against the wall to listen to her conversation.

"No, I'm here with Booth, Angela. I can't go out tonight." Brennan paused. "No, we're working." Again, paused. "Well, yes. There will be a movie, I think. And Chinese." Silence. "No, Ange." Sigh. "Good_bye_, Angela."

Bones hung up and placed the cordless back in its cradle. It beeped quietly.

Booth grinned at her from across the room.

"Ready?"

Bones cast a glance over the room and nodded.

"Good. Let's go. I'm starving."

"It's only been five hours since we had lunch," Bones commented, plucking her bag from the bathroom.

"I know. A whole _five hours,_" Booth groaned, faking a stomach ache and stumbling after her out the door.

-

The remnants of supper were scattered on the coffee table, take away boxes and chopsticks and beer bottles. A large bowl with melted ice cream puddled at the bottom, two spoons resting against the side.

Bones was curled at one end of the couch, legs crossed. She was balancing her laptop on her thighs and typing with a constant rhythm as Booth emerged from his room, freshly showered.

"Sorry, Bones. I nearly slipped and broke my neck on one of Parker's bath toys." Booth fell onto the couch at her feet, sighing.

The smell of fresh shower plumed up around her from his sudden movement and she looked up from her screen and paused. His skin was glowing and he radiated heat from his spot, warming Brennan's knees and shins almost instantly. His hair was still damp and sticking every which way, and he grinned at her over the computer.

"Did you want to take a shower before the movie or...?" Booth trailed off.

Bones considered for a minute and shook her head.

"After. Before bed."

She folded up the computer after saving her work, and placed it on the coffee table alongside the mess.

"What did you want to watch?" Booth asked, surveying his DVD collection from his seat on the couch.

"I don't know; you pick something." Bones took in the large assortment of movies organized on the entertainment centre.

"Uhhh..." Booth scanned. "What haven't you seen?"

Bones looked at him, eyebrow raised.

"Right," he said. "How about..." Bones watched as Booth plucked a movie from the shelf and read her the back.

Booth waited for her nod of approval, a look of curiosity on her face.

"How will that man know when to come get us? Does he have the place rigged or something?" Bones shifted, folding her legs under her.

"Bugged. And no, he didn't bug my place. I had a crew sweep it before we got home. And he'll come when he thinks we're most vulnerable. Probably later tonight." Booth slipped the DVD into the player and switched the TV on.

The movie started, flashes of colour and comic-style drawings for the intro credits.

Bones watched, observing Booth's timing with laughing, and figuring out what he must find funny. The blond onscreen was acting quite odd, and the probability that Earth would look that way after _all_ the water... Bones stopped paying attention when Booth's head slid into her lap and his eyes fluttered.

Bones took a breath and tried to decide what one would normally do in this situation. Compiling her facts, she placed her fingers lightly in his hair and ran her fingers through it softly. She watched as Booth drifted off quickly after that. She half-watched the rest of the movie, but lost interest before it was over.

Booth was snoring slightly and she couldn't be sure, but Bones thought he had drooled on her jeans. His face was less worried and calmer than it was during the day; he looked so much happier when he was sleeping.

As Bones reached for the remote to turn the credits off, Booth stirred and stretched.

"Over already?" he mumbled, sitting up.

"Yes." Bones stared down at the miniscule darkened patch on her thigh and rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, Bones. I fell asleep; I didn't mean to." Booth apologized, pink-faced. He rubbed his jaw and the five o'clock shadow there.

"And you drooled on me," she laughed as his face went red and guilt washed over his features. "It's okay Booth. When you fall asleep, all of your muscles relax, your heart slows, and muscles you normally have supreme control over are suddenly unresponsive. If you were to drool when you were awake, you would immediately wipe your mouth in response, but you were asleep. I don't expect you to be the exception to the entire human race, Booth."

That explanation and rationalization seemed to ease him, but he still eyed the spot with pink cheeks.

Bones stretched and yawned, standing and starting to gather the garbage from the table. She slipped the take away containers into one another and put the chopsticks inside. She picked those up and reached for the Booth's ice cream bowl when her shoulder knocked with his. He had come over and was helping her clear up silently. He grinned sideways at her and snagged the bowl out from under her hand and wove his fingers with the bottle necks, lifting the glass beer bottles easily. He edged around her and made his way to the kitchen softly.

"I could have gotten those, Booth. You're tired." Bones followed after him with a blank face.

"I know, Bones. I know you can do everything I can do, and more. I just like to do it because it helps you. It's silly to carry everything in at once, no matter how well-balanced it is. Especially when I'm standing right there watching you build the Tower of Piza with our food containers," Booth snorted as she came around the corner after him carrying a very tall, crooked stack of white boxes. Bones sighed and dropped them into the garbage can by the counter.

Booth looked at the microwave clock.

10:47.

Where did the time go?

"I don't know if you're tired yet, but I changed the sheets on my bed for you; I'll take the couch."

Bones looked up at Booth with alarm.

"What?" Booth asked, confused at her expression.

"I'm finding it hard to relax and put the man who's following us out of my mind so I can fall asleep," she responded hesitantly and her body coiled.

Booth laughed softly, the skin around his eyes wrinkling slightly.

"Are you scared? You know you can protect yourself. But seriously, I wouldn't let him drag you kicking and screaming out my door, Bones. Come on, give me a little credit."

Bones sighed, her body slumping.

"I suppose. And yes, you're right, I can protect myself. I know that," she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "Okay. May I use your shower?"

Booth showed her to his room, decked in greens with wood accents. He had changed the sheets and made the bed up with a warm duvet and turned everything back for her; he even had thought to get out a clean towel. He pointed her to the bathroom and left, closing the door softly behind him as he went. He switched off lights as made his way back to the living room, bathing the apartment in darkness. After digging through Parker's closet, he emerged with a spare blanket and fell onto the couch heavily.

He heard the groan of protest from the shower as Bones turned it on and he placed his hands under his head as he listened to the steady stream of water.

It seemed like such a short amount of time later that the water clunked off bluntly and everything was silent again.

Just as he started to close his eyes and sink deeper into the couch, he heard his bedroom door crack open and a sliver of pale light hit the other side of the hallway.

Bones was padding softly out to the living room. Booth could barely see her in the inky blackness.

"Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?" he answered, immediately awake.

"Perhaps it would be best to stay in the same room. In case that man breaks in. Two against one is better in regards to odds. It's just a fact."

Booth grinned happily to the shadows and sat up, tossing the blanket from his legs.

Bones had already slunk back to his room, and when he got there, she had already turned out the light and taken the right side of the bed. Booth climbed in beside her and stretched out onto his back and again folded his arms under his head.

"You okay, Bones?" he asked the darkness.

"Yes, I think so. Having you here calms my unease over the whole situation. It's not that I can't defend myself-"

"I know, Bones."

She was silent for a moment.

"But you're comfortable with the proximity?" she asked curiously.

"I'm a gentleman, Bones. You know that. Besides, I won't fall asleep; I'll be listening for our tracker, remember? You can sleep, though. I'm sorry I had to yank you out of your house."

"I don't mind."

There was more silence. For a long while, neither of them talked.

"How's Parker?"

Booth blinked.

"He's safe."

"I meant... Oh. Oh, do the Reyablos have Parker under surveillance, too? In case you don't give them what they want?"

"No, not as far as any of my men can tell. Parker's fine, but I have a few guys stationed around Rebecca's just in case. Just like I have agents here, for when that guy shows up." His softness was replaced with something very much like over-confidence.

"How do they even know about Parker?"

"I took him to church with me yesterday," Booth replied quietly, now through gritted teeth. "But he's fine, I'm sure."

"Oh." Bones knew he didn't like it when the bad guys targeted his family and friends.

Bones rolled onto her side and faced Booth.

"Good night, Booth," Bones whispered.

"Good night, Bones," came Booth's murmured response.

Booth stared as the faint light from between the blinds caught the ring on Bones' hand, which she had curled up by her chin. Her eyes were closed and she smelled of fresh shower now, too. Her hair was still damp and fanned out behind her to dry.

Booth watched the clock count minutes which turned into hours. He barely moved, in case Bones was a light sleeper. He just listened to her breath move in and out of her lungs.

Just as the clock was inching towards 2:00, Booth's ears perked up. A sound crept softly through the apartment and landed right on the shell of his ear, just for him.

Someone was creeping through his living room.

Booth dislodged himself from the blankets silently, but Bones woke up just as his weight left the mattress.

"Booth, what-"

Booth threw his hand over her mouth and she startled in the dark, realizing a second later who was covering her mouth and muffling her words.

She reached up to wrench his hand away from her face and sat up just as silently as he had. By the faint light, she could see Booth had his gun in his hands, and he was straining his ears.

She heard it then.

A floorboard, just a whisper.

Her heart was pounding against her ribcage with such force, she was sure the man could hear it from the other end of the hallway.

"Lay down."

Booth's whispered command shocked her, but he was too busy stuffing pillows under the blanket where he had previously been laying. Brennan laid back down, quietly adjusting herself and trying desperately to calm her breathing as Booth crept to stand behind the door, coiled for action.

It seemed forever, like the man was never there in the apartment, because it took so long for him to inch the door open completely silently. Bones' eyes were closed and Booth prepared to jump the shadow of a man before he reached the bed.

Booth waited until the man was facing away from him and moving toward his side of the bed, where he had stashed his pillows.

Booth leapt into action, bringing his elbow down hard on the guy's shoulder and knocking him to the ground. They tussled on the floor, and Bones jumped up from the bed and reached for the light switch.

She flicked it on and saw the two men rolling around in the enclosed space, each trying to damage the other as much as possible. The man all in black was on top, and seemed to have the upper hand over Booth. He pulled his elbow back and curled his hand, and Bones watched in horror as he let his fist crack with the side of Booth's head. Booth let go of the man for a second, but that was all it took for him to stand and lunge for Bones.

Bones hopped out of the way just in time, and the man crashed into the wall that was behind her. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she found a pressure point and dug her thumbs into it as hard as she could. The man crumpled, yelling out and she climbed onto his back, digging her elbow into another soft spot on his spine, holding him down as Booth scrambled around for his cuffs.

The man underneath her was trying to throw her off but she pressed harder into his back and he just swore in Spanish, letting of a stream of insults until Booth had him cuffed and was walking him out the front door, into the waiting hands of two sleepy agents.

As Booth scuffed back into the apartment and snapped the door shut behind him, he looked smugly at Bones from across the kitchen.

"He's gonna talk. I got a feeling."

He walked past the fridge.

"Good job, Bones. We caught him." He held up his hand, and Bones smiled tiredly, hi-fiving him.

"Okay, Booth. Take me home now."

"Bones, it almost three in the morning. Besides, if I took you home, I'd have to pick you up in the morning anyway and take you to work; your car is at the lab."

Bones' face contorted in anger but Booth cut her off.

"I promise I'll take you bright and early in the morning. Just go back to sleep, Bones. You're in your jammies, after all," Booth grinned.

Bones pursed her lips but stayed silent.

"Fine," she responded finally. "But we need to get there early. Right at eight." She turned on her heel and marched back to Booth's bedroom, a tone of threatening finality and dead seriousness in her tone.

-

Bones and Booth walked through the doors of the lab promptly at 9:21 a.m.

Bones was livid and she stormed into the large open space, still yelling at Booth.

"Eight o'clock, Booth! I was supposed to be here at eight o'clock!"

Booth followed her in bashfully, wincing as her voice carried through the entire lab.

"Do you want me to apologize _again_? I'm sorry I turned the alarm off instead of waking up," Booth had a competitive look in his eye. "But _I_ didn't take forever in the bathroom to get ready this morning, did I? No. That was _you_. I was ready to go at 8:30. You were the one who-"

"Booth! It's not _my_ fault we're-"

"So it's mine, for taking an _hour_ in the bathroom-"

Booth grinned momentarily at Angela as they passed her, leaving her with a look akin to 'deer-in-the-headlights' crossed with 'child-let-loose-in-a-candy-store', before jumping headlong back into the argument as they disappeared around the corner.

--

**Hello again, everyone. **

**I would like to officially dedicate this to ariacle, whose simple twelve word review left me pondering. My dear, it was your simplicity with words that did the trick. **

**As with most things, I had a brilliant flash of creativity while singing in the shower.**

**Now, I aimed to keep everyone in character. I know there isn't a lot of anyone BUT Booth and Bones, but I did try.**

**In case you are a mite confused, this is a piece that directly follows 'Distraction', which I posted a week ago. The story would probably make more sense if you read that. I would like you all to note that I didn't intend to write anything more on this line after I wrote the last one, so let me know if something is a little off; I hope it's not. The man who followed them to the dinner was merely a plot developer (of sorts, as there wasn't much plot), but suddenly, everyone wanted him to have a backstory.**

**Much thanks to my beta, best friend and sister; she is the 'heads' to my 'tails'.**

**Drop me line, people. I'm normally pretty friendly.**


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